But what's happening to English may be its own thing: It's mingling with so many more local languages than Latin ever did, that it's on a path toward a global tongue — what's coming to be known as Panglish.

Two of the party (presumably the Golden equivalent of professional linguists) had arrived speaking a modest amount of Panglish; they had been able to learn the human language that served as a WorldSpeak on Terra, just from their surveillance of the planet.

The Goldies had arrived almost decorously, sending a message in Panglish months in advance so that there would be no surprise, giving the people of Earth time to get used to the idea of visiting aliens.